Three Beans - building a nationwide business

Jonny McKessar from Three Beans Coffee Roasters. Photo / Babiche Martens

High level expertise is the ingredient a central Auckland coffee and bakery business craves as it works to build a nationwide business.

Currently based out of the bustling foodie hub at the City Works Depot site Three Beans Coffee, together with its food venture Scratch Bakers, has its sights set on taking its tasty fare to a wider audience.

Co-founders Jonny McKessar and Steven Vanderput already wholesale to a select group of Auckland cafes but see huge potential to take the brand further.
The pair has turned to the University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneurs' Challenge EC-35 fund, which gives young entrepreneurs up to $100,000 to bring on board an expert or independent director to fuel business growth.

The EC-35 runs in conjunction with the main Entrepreneurs' Challenge competition offering $1 million in business funding for high growth New Zealand companies with global ambitions.

McKessar said Three Beans has several schemes in the mix, including a move to a bigger baking site on nearby Graham St, a focus on wholesale growth in greater Auckland and a plan to take its coffee beans and baking national, possibly using a franchise model.

Bringing know-how on board might help the company grow beyond the expected forecasts, said McKessar, with the possibility it would look to source different experts over the course of its development.

In the background the two businesses are already blending together the systems and processes to make some efficiency gains.

McKessar said bringing together the two companies, which currently share common ownership, into one business meant it could offer café clients a baking and coffee bean supply from a single point of contact and delivery.

Winners of the Entrepreneurs' Challenge and EC-35 are announced next Monday.